Indians are voting in the second phase of the world's biggest election as Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his rivals raise the pitch of the campaign by focusing on hot-button issues such as religious discrimination, affirmative action and taxes.
Almost one billion people are eligible to vote in the seven-phase general elections that began on April 19 and conclude on June 1, with votes set to be counted on June 4.
Modi is seeking a record-equalling third straight term on the back of his economic record, welfare measures, national pride, Hindu nationalism and personal popularity.
Surveys suggest he will easily win a comfortable majority.
His challengers have formed an alliance of more than two dozen parties and are promising greater affirmative action, more handouts and an end to what they call Modi's autocratic rule.
A total of 88 seats out of the 543 seats in the lower house of parliament went to the polls on Friday, with 160 million people eligible to vote.
They were spread across 13 states and federal territories in the world's most populous country.
More than half of the seats in Friday's contests were in the southern states of Kerala and Karnataka and the northwest state of Rajasthan.
The campaign has become more heated since the first phase of voting on April 19 as Modi and the main opposition Congress party have faced off on communal issues with Modi accusing Congress of favouring minority Muslims, aiming to dilute affirmative action and planning to impose an inheritance tax.
Congress has denied the charges.
It said Modi fears losing and has been using divisive language to distract voters from real issues such as unemployment, inflation and rural distress.
Rahul Gandhi, former Congress president and the face of the party, was among the 1200 candidates in the fray on Friday.
"Your vote will decide whether the next government will be of 'a few billionaires' or of '140 crore Indians'," Gandhi posted on X as voting began, referring to India's population of 1.4 billion.
"Therefore, it is the duty of every citizen to step out of their homes today and become a 'soldier of the constitution' and vote to protect democracy."
Gandhi is seeking re-election from Wayanad in Kerala and faces Annie Raja of the Communist Party of India (CPI) and BJP's K Surendran, among others, in the Left Front-ruled state.
His Congress party is still seen to be struggling nationally as bickering within the opposition alliance it leads and graft cases against some leaders hobble its challenge to Modi.
The Election Commission and political parties have been worried about voter turnout due to the summer heat and wedding season in some parts of the country, with turnout falling to about 65 per cent in the first phase from almost 70 per cent in 2019.
Bengaluru, which has faced an unusually hot summer this year, is forecast to touch a high of 37C on Friday while Mathura is expected to reach 41C.
